DNR News

Dec. 10, 2013

DNR Agency Director recognized for longtime law enforcement service

The S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Agency Director Alvin Taylor was recognized for his law enforcement service to the state of South Carolina during a luncheon at Ft. Jackson on Dec. 10. The prestigious Strom Thurmond Awards for Excellence in Law Enforcement were established by the late Senator Strom Thurmond in 1983 and 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of the awards.

The Strom Thurmond Awards for Excellence in Law Enforcement are given each year to one city, county, state and federal officer in South Carolina. The Strom Thurmond Foundation continues the tradition of presenting four awards annually during an awards ceremony and luncheon hosted by the U.S. Attorney’s Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Foundation. Also recognized were: York Police Chief Charles Robinson, Kershaw Co. Sheriff James Matthews and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent Alan Cornett.

"Alvin Taylor's leadership has always set the standard at every level of his career," said DNR Law Enforcement Col. Chisolm Frampton. "But his dedication extends even further to encourage the use of our natural resources by, especially, kids and families and preserve our natural heritage for generations to come."

Director Taylor has spent a lifetime in the service for the citizens of the Palmetto State. Alvin graduated from Clemson University in 1976 with a BS in Zoology. He completed training at the U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Training Center in Yorktown, Virginia, in 1976, and graduated from the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy in 1977. He began his career with the DNR in 1977 and progressed through the ranks serving as an officer, private first class, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, major, and colonel, the agency’s law-enforcement chief. He is a certified SCUBA diver and for several years supervised the DNR Aquatic Investigations and Recovery Unit dive team. He is an active member of the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA), serving as its president in 2003, and he is the State Boating Law Administrator for South Carolina.

On Dec. 8, 2011, the seven-member DNR Board named him Acting Director of the agency, and on March 17, 2012, he became the agency’s permanent Director. As agency colonel and director he's overseen operations ranging from taking down a cockfighting ring to repatriating captive bears to a wildlife sanctuary.

His mission has been and remains to ensure that agency decisions and actions regarding the state’s natural resources are based on a balance of scientific knowledge, strong conservation ethics, objectivity, fairness, and the needs and interests of the public.